Search
1000 results for “billiam”
-
The Squeeze (1977)
The Squeeze from 1977 is really a combination of the talent involved to keep things entertaining and thrilling. A forgotten British thriller that needs to be resurrected!
https://garethmyles.com/the-squeeze-1977/
#MovieStuffs #Reviews #1977 #BillJames #CarolWhite #DavidHemmings #EdwardFox #FreddieStarr #MichaelApted #Minder #StacyKeach #StephenBoyd #TheSqueeze #WhoseLittleGirlAreYou
-
The Squeeze (1977)
The Squeeze from 1977 is really a combination of the talent involved to keep things entertaining and thrilling. A forgotten British thriller that needs to be resurrected!
https://garethmyles.com/the-squeeze-1977/
#MovieStuffs #Reviews #1977 #BillJames #CarolWhite #DavidHemmings #EdwardFox #FreddieStarr #MichaelApted #Minder #StacyKeach #StephenBoyd #TheSqueeze #WhoseLittleGirlAreYou
-
Warner Bros.’ Pam Abdy Emphasizes “Commitment to Bring Looney Tunes Back to the Big Screen”
#MovieNews #Movies #Animation #Billdamaschke #LooneyTunes #MikeDeLuca #Pamabdy #WarnerBros #WarnerBrosPictures -
This thread was originally written and published in January 2024.
The pub in the picture below has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently but, despite its rather forbidding appearance these days, it’s a very important pub. It is a surviving example, serving its original purpose, of only a handful of such inter-war hostelries that were built in Edinburgh; the roadhouse. But these nine public houses didn’t just appear for no reason, they were the culmination of and response to a long political and social struggle around public drinking in the first half of the 20th century. Shall we unravel their story?
The Anchor Inn on West Granton Road.The short version of the roadhouse story is this: they are a blend of 1930s architecture and design glamour that were used by the licensed trade to entice a new generation of sophisticated, Holywood-inspired, upmarket, car-driving drinkers. That’s partly true, but is by no means the full story.
1934 Dunlop Tyres advert showing cars arriving at an Art Deco roadhouse. © Illustrated London NewsTo understand how Edinburgh got its roadhouses we have to go back to 1913 when the Temperance movement was at the peak of its power and the Temperance (Scotland) Act was passed. This was also known as the Local Veto Act as it allowed localities to force referendums on going dry – although this only applied to public houses, not restaurants or hotels. The veto ballots could be called by 10% of registered electors in a burgh, parish or ward petitioning for it. There were 3 options on the bill:
- No Change, i.e. the area would stay wet
- Limitation – there would be a 25% reduction in licences in the area
- No Licence, i.e. prohibition
The No Licence option required a supermajority of 55% to pass, representing at least 35% of all electors in the area. If that hurdle failed to be passed, these votes were then counted towards Limitation.
British Women’s Temperance Association banner of the Scottish Christian Union, 1900. © Edinburgh City LibrariesThe Act had unforeseen consequences though: the brewers and licensed trade circled their wagons and got organised, forming defence committees to coordinate their response. They also put off investment in their estates in case of an unfavourable ballot; why spend money with the threat of a loss of licence hanging over you? As a result the quality of pubs got worse, not better. But the Temperance Movement had to wait until the conclusion of WW1 before making their next move. This came in 1920 to coincide with local elections and they launched their Pussyfoot Campaign to coordinate mass petitioning for local veto ballots across Scotland. This was named after an American prohibition campaigner who arrived in the UK in 1919, who had a tactic of pussyfooting around pubs incognito to gather evidence against them. And so in December 1920, Edinburgh (amongst many other Scottish localities) held its first Local Veto ballot. The terms of the act meant that public houses had to shut during polling hours. The Evening News reported record trade in Musselburgh as the city’s drinkers fled to the sanctuary of the Honest Toun for the day.
“Edinburgh Drouths Annex Musselburgh”. Edinburgh Evening News – 6th December 1920But after the last pint glasses had been emptied, the last drams downed and the ballot papers counted, the Temperance Movement were in for a disappointment: Edinburgh voted firmly for No Change in every ward – 68% overall. No Licence got 29%, less than half of what was needed, with a small minority voting for Limitation. The city would stayed wet. The Movement tried again in 1923 and although the polls shifted a few percent, once again every ward voted for a majority of No Change. Things were closest in Morningside where it was 51:46% between status quo and prohibition. You can spot something of a definite inner city / suburban and social order based split in the numbers.
Edinburgh 1920 & 1923 Local Veto Act, results for “No Change” by Ward.So it was now 1923, 10 years since the Temperance Act was passed, and neither the Movement or the more moderate Reformers were any further forward in the city and the trade still refused to invest in their estates. And so the quality of pubs continued to deteriorate. Many in the trade did recognise the need to improve, however they wanted the threat of the 1913 Act pulling the rug from under their feet to be gone before they put their money where their mouths were. They were supported politically in this by reformers, led by Lord Novar in the House of Lords and Lord Salvesen of the Scottish Public House Reform League. The Reformers took as their template the New Model Inn developed by Harry Redfern for the Government in the Carlisle district after WW1 which aimed to use better design and an improved service offering to reduce drunkenness.
The Redfern Inn at Etterby, CarlisleDespite the deliberately anachronistic appearance, these were a modern ideal of a public house, full of design innovations that we now take for granted. These included the practice of seated drinking around tables in open saloons where all corners and entries and exits could be viewed from the bar line; traditionally most pubs indulged in drinking standing around a small service bar, or in small rooms where what happened in the room stayed in the room. Public bars were accompanied by relaxed lounge bars, where women were tolerated in the company of their husbands, hot food was served and other wholesome diversions such as reading, writing and games rooms were included. The Scottish Reformers called these the Improved Public House on the Carlisle Model. Interestingly, they declined to follow a different but more local and established form of reformed public house; the Gothenburg. The Goth movement grew out of that city and had been established cooperatively across Scottish mining communities, but particularly in the Lothians and Fife. It is likely that the Goth principles were too Temperate and too verging on Socialism for the trade to accept.
The Prestongrange Goth, Prestonpans. CC-by-SA 2.0 Richard WebbReform was all well and good in practice, however the trade still had to get through the Licensing Courts, which were stuffed with conservatively-minded councillors who were frequently aligned with the Church and were heavily lobbied by well organised Temperance campaigners and their lawyers. The Courts were able to make it very difficult for new licenses to be obtained and all too easy for old ones to be lost. Over time they managed to reduce the overall numbers of licences in the City by granting fewer than were removed or expired.
The end result of all this was that there was a period of almost 20 years when no new pubs were built in Edinburgh. Things came to a head in 1933 when the President of the Edinburgh Local Veto Defence Association petitioned for a licence for a new inn in the new district of Balgreen. Robert Russell Hogg had kept a pub next to the City Chambers for 21 years, which the Corporation now wanted him to give up to allow them to extend that building. He pushed a test case to allow an Improved Tavern in an otherwise dry district as a direct challenge to Temperance – stipulating he wanted to be out of the city centre and in an area where he would not have to compete with established trade. Hogg was a keen reformer and stated he wanted “an inn after the English type, something the trade would be proud to have in Edinburgh“.
The Temperance Movement had thus far managed to keep all of Edinburgh’s new peripheral council housing schemes effectively “dry” by preventing licenses for pubs and off-licence grocers. They had a lot to lose here and rallied their troops; a petition of 181 owners and occupiers in the district against Hogg’s application was organised. The ministers of Saughtonhall Congregational Church, the Cairns Memorial Church and Stenhouse Church of Scotland all lodged protests. But lose lose they did, by 9-1 votes at the licensing court. And so on December 24th 1934, Edinburgh’s first newly built pub in at least 20 years opened; The Wheatsheaf Inn on Balgreen Road. It was in an Scottish interpretation of the Arts & Crafts style by architects Lorimer & Matthew. Hogg took out adverts calling it “Auld Reekie’s New Modern Inn“.
Promotional postcard for the Wheatsheef, showing interior of the establishment. Reproduced with kind permission of Sarah M (@sazz_mck).When it opened it was almost 1/3 mile from the nearest house. It was spacious, with a large, open “tap room” with no corners that could not be observed from the bar line, a kitchen and dining room, a garden, car park and a flat for the landlord upstairs. To cock a snoot at the Temperance Movement, Hogg had an ornamental sculpture added with a legend taken from Omar Khayyam installed above the front door: “AND AS THE COCK CREW THOSE WHO STOOD BEFORE THE TAVERN SHOUTED OPEN THEN THE DOOR“.
Wheatsheaf, the main door was on the right, below the chimney and carving over the lintel. Picture by Fiona Coutts, via British Listed Buildings.The Lord Provost was supportive of the new initiative, and hoped it would help put an end to the scourge of Vertical Drinking (or Perpendicular Drinking as he particularly called it). This was the practice of drinking standing around a serving hatch or bar (which many howffs at the time basically were), rather than seated politely around tables. The Improved Public House genie was now out of the bottle, but others in the trade held back a bit to see how Hogg got on. When it was clear he wad a success on his hands, others decided to join in on the action. The Licensing Courts sat twice a year and so the next two applications had to wait until April 1935.
First up was a widow, Mrs Johan Thom, who kept the Stenhouse Inn by Liberton. She wanted an Improved Pub to replace this old country tavern which she had run with her late husband and her application was successful. The Arts & Craft style Greenend Inn opened on Gilmerton Road on March 23rd 1936, but it has always almost been known by the nickname of its predecessor, The Robin’s Nest. You can see that particular bird on the prominent external sign. These elaborate, painted tavern signs were an import from England where the brewery trade had been trying to revive their ancient art. Mrs Thom had gone all out on the latest facilities, with lounge and public bars, a tea room, restaurant, “parking and accommodation for cars” and a skittle alley! The skittle alley (or space devoted to such other such traditional, wholesome games) would become something of a feature of the roadhouses.
The Greenend Inn, Edinburgh Evening News- 30 June 1936The other application made at this time was something altogether different from these Arts & Crafts reinterpretations of the traditional Olde English country tavern, something instead inspired by the glamour of Hollywood and the ocean liner. This was the Maybury Roadhouse; “Scotland’s premier commercial establishment of the 1930s“.
Artist’s Impression of the Maybury Roadhouse. Edinburgh Evening News- 01 May 1935Gone here were old world comforts of wood and the fireplace and in were sleek Streamline Moderne architecture (by Paterson & Broom) and the glitz of neon lights and jazz bands, the cocktail bar, the grill restaurant, the ballroom, balconies, a mezzanine gallery and rooftop garden. The Maybury opened on 19th November 1936, despite 260 objections by the Temperance Movement and the usual protests of local ministers. Its licensees were Messrs P. McDougall, who had been in the trade for over 40 years, and it cost them £10,000 to build (c. £584k in 2023). Although sometimes referred to as a “roadhouse hotel“, actually a defining feature of the roadhouse was that they were not hotels, the Dundee Licensing Court defined them in 1937 as “a house which supplied all the services of the hotel without sleeping accommodation“. Certainly it was the ultimate expression of the roadhouse concept in Scotland, and endures (as a casino) as one of the finest monuments to Art Deco in the country.
Maybury Gala Casino, CC-by-SA 2.0 Thomas NugentThe scale and ostentatious glamour of the Maybury was a one-off, but it influenced subsequent applications in the city. Six months after its licence was granted, in October 1935, Mrs Jemima Hood Gair petitioned for a new roadhouse on Niddrie Mains Road to serve the housing estates there with all the latest features, including a billiards room. She had been in the trade herself for 11 years after the death of her husband and kept a licensed grocer at West Adam Street and a pub on Couper Street in Leith. The Temperance Movement were furious – this was a blatant attempt to introduce the public house to a housing scheme they considered to be dry (even though men who wanted to just went into town to drink) and sent in their lawyer, Duncan Maclennan SSC, to lead the objections. By 8 votes to 1, she prevailed, on the condition she relinquished her two existing premises, a compromise position that resulted in a net reduction in licences of one in the city. She was also obliged to serve hot meals as had been proposed. The White House opened on 18th October 1936, in an Art Deco style by Leith architects W. N. Thomson. It featured two public bars, a saloon, cocktail bar, a lounge bar, a skittle alley and billiards and darts rooms, as well as a cafe-cum-restaurant.
Opening announcement for the White House, Evening News, 22 October 1936. Mrs Gair is in the centre of the lower image, in the coat with dark fur lapels.The April 1936 licensing committee takes us back where we started, the Anchor Inn on West Granton Road. This application, by James Birrell Rintoul, was approved that year to an Art Deco design by Thomas Bowhill Gibson, better known as a cinema architect (including The Dominion in Morningside). The Anchor is probably the furthest from the model of the Roadhouse of the lot; in reality it was just a modern and vaguely upmarket public house decorated with contemporary architectural details. The Temperance Movement were probably right to see it as merely a way to get a public house into an otherwise dry estate. They managed to make it a close run thing at the Licensing Court, again Duncan Maclennan SSC opposed, as well as all 36 church ministers in Leith. Rintoul relied on the casting vote of Lord Provost Gumley to get it through and was obliged to provide “hot luncheons, high teas, cooked food“.
The year following The Anchor, three roadhouse licenses were granted. The first to open was the Hillburn Roadhouse which was the project of John Maclennan Oman and his wife Nellie who kept a number of pubs across the city and been in the trade over 40 years. Despite it being, then, well away from anything else, they still struggled to get a licence and had to have it granted on appeal.
The Hillburn Roadhouse, a contemporary photograph provided by Colin Dale to a book by Malcolm Cant.It featured all the usual roadhouse facilities, with three bars, a “first class restaurant” (serving luncheons, snacks, afternoon teas, grills, dinners, suppers etc.), an off-licence shop, car parking and “commanding a fine view of the Pentland Hills“. Latterly run as the Fairmile Inn and suffering the indignity of a Scottish & Newcastle ski chalet-themed 1970s refurbishment, the Hillburn sat empty for a number of years, unloved and unwanted, and was demolished in 2013. It’s the only Edinburgh roadhouse to suffer this fate.
Hillburn Roadhouse skittles alley. RIAS photo, picture from a book by Malcolm CantJohnnie Oman died in 1942. Nellie continued to run the Hillburn, living in the flat above, until retiring to the Grange in 1956. One of their other bars, the Duddingston Arms in Craigmillar, has long been known as Oman’s in their honour. It’s proximity to The White House can’t just be a coincidence, the Omans can’t have missed this new establishment along the road from them and were undoubtedly inspired by it.
Oman’s bar on Peffer Place. The finest glass brick pub facade in Edinburgh.The following month after the Hillburn opened, James Daly opened the Abercorn Inn on the Portobello Road, near the Northfield and Piershill housing schemes. He too had to go to appeal to get permission for it. His establishment was back to the Arts & Crafts Style of the Robin’s Nest (and although I can’t find an architect name for either, I’d put money on them being one and the same)
The (former) Abercorn Inn. Photo © SelfIt opened “in the Old English Style” on September 16th 1938 and had almost exactly the same facilities as its lookalike. The opening announcement proudly concluded that “Only First-Class Ales and Finest Whiskies and Wines Stocked“.
Opening announcement for the Abercorn Inn, 16th September 1938The last of the trio of 1937 roadhouses opened on 11th October 1938, the House O’ Hill on the Queensferry Road at Blackhall. The licensee was Edward Cranston, a wine and spirit merchant whose premises included that now known as The King’s Wark on the Shore in Leith. Again it followed the Arts & Crafts style, but contrary to some sources was a new building and not converted from an older tavern or coaching house.
The House O’ Hill on the right, with the English-style pub sign outside. From an old postcard.It too proved controversial, not because it was in a dry scheme this time, but because of its genteel surroundings. Lord Provost Gumley struggled to be heard over cries of “No!” and “Shame!” when announcing the granting of its licence. The 238 objectors claimed it was not Temperance that was their objection, but that the Queensferry Road was too busy during the day and too quiet at night to be acceptable for the motor car traffic “of the young and gay” that such an establishment would undoubtedly attract. But once again they failed to block it, and it opened with a mock-Tudor main bar with an “Old English style brick fireplace” and equipped with “small tables and comfortable modern chairs“. The “high-class restaurant” could seat 100, there was a games room with its own bar and a cocktail bar with feature lighting. Outside there were decorative gardens with fir trees and Japanese shrubs, and a car park for 25 vehicles. For as many years as I can remember, the place has been used as offices, but still retains its Olde English style pub signboard out front
The House O’ Hill these days, as offices for the Scottish Grocers FederationNot all roadhouses got through the Licensing Court however, and the objectors were able to stop a few. One on East Milton Road was declined due to its proximity to two boarding houses for girls. Another at Stenhouse Road was knocked back, as was one on Northfield Broadway. The latter would eventually be built post-war, with the curious name of the Right Wing. This came from its landlord, Hibs’ legendary “Famous Five” right winger, Gordon Smith. It was demolished in 2018 for a speculative development which has yet to be built five years later.
The Right Wing in 2008.But that’s a postwar roadhouse, and we’re here to talk about inter-war roadhouses. The last of these was approved at the licensing court of April 1938 and was one of two competing schemes on opposite corners of Parkhead Gardens at Sighthill, then a new and somewhat upmarket estate of privately rented houses and flats. Messrs. Mitchell, caterers, were successful in their application, but the opening was delayed until February 1st 1940 owing to the outbreak of war. The named it the Silver Wing in connection with the glamour of aviation. The green-tiled pagoda tower over the entrance is distinctive, but it’s not an early prototype for an all-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet! No, one of the directors of Messrs Mitchell & Co. had a pilots licence, and wanted the place to have an aeronautical theme. That pagoda is actually a control tower! The main bar floor was laid out as an aviators compass, the cocktail bar was called “The Cockpit” and painted panels and engraved mirrors around the bars represented flight-themed scenes, including of the Luftwaffe bombing raids over the Firth of Forth in October 1939. As well as a skittle alley it had a ballroom with capacity for 200 dancers.
The Silver Wing at SightillThe Silver Wing was a forces favourite for dances during WW2 – being conveniently close to the RAF at Turnhouse (the officers preferred the Maybury) and also a prisoner of war camp a bit along the Calder Road.
A Company, Edinburgh Home Guard, dance at the Silver Wing, Evening News, January 11th 1941Although only nine roadhouses were built in Edinburgh in the inter-war period, they did a fairly comprehensive job at positioning themselves on the principal approach roads from the city; staying true to the roadhouse ideal, even if some were really just glorified local pubs.
Map of Edinburgh’s inter-war roadhouse inns. Purple pins are establishments.The Temperance Movement and the Local Veto polls never went away despite these reformist pubs, indeed it may have galvanised some in the movment. The last such referendum in Edinburgh was in Corstorphine & Cramond ward in 1938 where 76% voted for No Change. Polls continued in Scotland into the 1970s, before final abolition in 1976. You can still drink in the Anchor Inn, Robin’s Nest, Silver Wing and the Maybury (although the latter is a Casino, so you need to join first). The White House is looking good, but is a (dry) community facility. The Abercorn, House O’ Hill and Wheatsheaf are commercial premises.
The White House after 2011 refurbishment – pic by Smith Scott Mullan AssociatesIf you have found this useful, informative or amusing, perhaps you would like to help contribute towards the running costs of this site (including keeping it ad-free and my book-buying budget) by supporting me on ko-fi. Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends.
These threads © 2017-2023, Andy Arthur
#architecture #ArtDeco #Balgreen #Blackhall #Edinburgh #Liberton #LocalPolitics #Niddrie #publicHouses #pubs #temperance #Written2024
-
Minor Details: Games of 4/4/26
https://wgom.org/2026/04/05/minor-details-games-of-4-4-26/ -
Minor Details: Games of 4/4/26
https://wgom.org/2026/04/05/minor-details-games-of-4-4-26/ -
Not only does the Saudi's deal make Kushner richer & gain them even more influence over #Trump, it also gives them access to Electronic Art's #AI innovations, & potentially puts millions of #Gamers personal data in questionable hands, of which EA gathers a surprising amount, things like age, sex, reflex times, what is appealing, …
In the after times, billiards, darts, card games will become popular social activities again. In my dreams.https://cepr.net/publications/jared-kushners-great-ea-swindle/
https://www.fdiintelligence.com/content/258f62a8-9f1b-4477-9ca1-72034ed66687
-
Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, Florida, view from the sea, 1946 (Vacation photograph collection of President Harry Truman, November 1946, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, public domain).
Still stationed at Fort Jefferson in Florida’s Dry Tortugas in July 1863, Lieutenant-Colonel George W. Alexander and the members of Companies F, H and K baked in the unrelenting heat while on duty and sought refuge in the cooler spaces of the fort and island when not. The inferior quality of water available to them continued to wreak havoc on their health. That month alone, twenty-three members of the regiment and twenty-six of the prisoners they were guarding were admitted to the fort’s post hospital with a range of ailments, including six cases of fever (five bilious remittent and one intermittent), seven with intestinal-related diseases (four with dysentery, two with chronic diarrhea, and one with hemorrhoids/piles that were likely caused by the prior two conditions), and three with inflammatory diseases or infections (boils or carbuncles, funiculitis, odontalgia (toothache), orchitis, otitis (earache), along with assorted injuries, including abrasions, sprains and hernia issues.
Meanwhile, the members of Companies A, B, C, D, E, G, and I were still stationed at Fort Taylor in Key West, Florida, under the command of the regiment’s founder, Colonel Tilghman H. Good. They too waged their own battles with the heat and disease.
* Note: The members of Company D had just returned to Fort Taylor from Fort Jefferson in mid-May 1863.
Taking time to record his thoughts in his diary throughout July, Private Henry J. Hornbeck of Company G noted that he was “busy in office” during the first two days of the month as he “procured Henry Kramer Company B as cook for our mess” on 1 July and as the “U.S. Gunboat Bermuda arrived from New Orleans,” that same afternoon, “having an old mail for this place, which had passed here, and had gone on there, some time ago…. Weiss & myself took a short walk towards the barracks, accompanying Pretz & Lawall. After which returned to office…. Ginkinger, Whiting & myself then went in bathing off the wharf. Retired at 11 p.m.”
On July 3, he noted, “Could not sleep tonight on account of the heat, sitting up greater portion of the night.”
First Lieutenant George W. Huntsberger, Company G, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers, circa 1863 (public domain).
The year was also proving to be an unforgettable one for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in an entirely different way—many of the carte de visite images taken of its members were taken in 1863, according to historian Lewis Schmidt, who has stated that the photographer of choice for the regiment’s officers was Moffat & Simpson on Duval Street in Key West.
Members of the regiment who were still serving at Fort Taylor during this time commemorated the Fourth of July in grand style as “the celebrations began at Key West at 9 AM,” according to Schmidt. Following an inspection and review of the five companies stationed at the fort by Brigadier-General Woodbury, “the regiment marched in a ‘street parade through the principal streets of the city in heat of 110 degrees Fahrenheit and the dust almost suffocating’. After which ‘each detachment was taken to their quarters, dismissed, and then to enjoy themselves as best they could… Col. Good fired the National Salute of 35 guns from Fort Taylor at Meridian [noon]…. There was a great amount of firing from the vessels in the harbor in honor of the day.’”
According to Private Hornbeck, his holiday was only partially duty free with “No work in office.” But he still had an early start to what became a very long, but memorable Fourth.
Rose at 4 a.m. went with Ginkinger to Slaughter House, procured rations of fresh beef for our mess. Mennig & Myself went to fish market, purchased two fish. Took a cup of coffee at café opposite Provost Marshals Office. After breakfast Whiting & myself played a game of billiards, then witnessed the parade of 47th P. V. 5 Companies with Band & Col. & Staff. Review by the Genl. At Headquarters. Dispersed at 11 a.m. Weather extremely hot. Provost Guard quarters finely decorated. Flags hoisted at great many places. Firing squibs &c, salute by Fort Taylor & Gunboats in harbor, as usual on such occasions. Remained in office all day. After supper Ginkinger & myself visited Capt. Bell, then went with Serg’t. Mink to procure ice cream at a Colored Woman’s establishment, after which returned to office. Many of boys, as usual upon such occasions, being today pretty well curried. Today the San Jacinto relieved the Magnolia as Flag Ship for this port. After taking a sea bath retired at 11 p.m.
From the perspective of C Company Musician Henry D. Wharton:
The city was gaily dressed in flags, and the prettiest thing of the kind was that at the guard station, under Lt. Reese of Company C. Five flags were suspended from the quarters, with wreaths, while the whole front of the enclosure of the yard was covered with evergreens and the red, white, and blue. The Navy had their vessels dressed in their best ‘bib and tucker’, flags flying fore and aft, of our own and those of all nations. It was a pretty sight, and in a measure paid for the fatigue of the boys on their march. At 12 noon, both Army and Navy fired a national salute of thirty five guns.
A day later, Private Hornbeck noted “News very bad. Lee’s army still in Pennsylvania making bad havoc,” and on July 7, “Weather sultry & mosquitoes again at work.” During this time, he was also hard at work updating the regiment’s commissary paperwork to enable the commissary staff to issue rations to members of the regiment later that week. On July 9, he recorded the following:
Busy today, moving the office next door to Provost Marshal’s office, fine place. Tug Reaney returned from Havana having a mail…. News very bad from Pa. Rebels about to attack Harrisburg. The Militia confident of holding the place. Bridges &c burnt on the Susquehanna…. Steamer Creole passed by this evening Pilot Boat brought in a paper up to July 3 reports 9000 Rebels to be Captured between Carlisle & Chambersburg. Genl. Hooker relieved from Command of Army of Potomac and Genl. Meade his successor, general satisfaction by this change…. Weather cool this evening.
Around this same time, Major William Gausler, who had been appointed by senior Union Army leaders to serve as the provost marshal of Key West, described the influence that the 47th Pennsylvania’s presence was having on local residents, noting “morals of the city in a good state,” and ascribing at least part of that success to C Company’s First Lieutenant William Reese:
The days are quiet, but the nights are a busy time for Lt. Reese at the guard station…. Woe betide those who imbibe sufficient to make them weak in the knees, for a soft plank in the lockup will be their bed, and a fine in the morning…. Reese is playing the deuce [with local residents selling liquor illegally] in the way of confiscating the ardent-stuff, sure to kill at forty yards. A few days ago he captured ‘eleven five gallon demijohns under the floor of a house, and another in a barrel covered with flowers in the lower part of the yard, where the [local resident] had been selling it to the sailors and soldiers in bottles containing scarcely a pint, at the exorbitant price of three dollars a bottle. A nice profit, as the stuff costs fifty five cents per gallon, clear of duties, being smuggled in at night.’”
That bootlegger was fined $400, according to Schmidt.
Captain Henry Durant Woodruff, commanding officer of Company D, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers (public domain).
Also according to Schmidt, additional festivities ensued on July 16, 1863 when members of Company D “presented a magnificent sword, sash, and belt” to Captain Woodruff “at the US Barracks in Key West.”
The company was formed in front of their quarters at 8 AM, across the barracks ground from Company C, and Pvt. George W. Baltozer, a 24 year old teacher from Perry County, made the following remarks on behalf of the company:
‘The motives that assemble us on the present occasion are based on our mature confidence, the martial skill, the intrepid heroism, and the undaunted intrepidity of our leader in arms. It is manifestive of our consciousness of your noble ability to wield in the defence [sic] of the rights of our country, this glittering weapon, that we place it in your protective hand. Receive it, sir, as a token of our estimation of your promotion of our ease and comfort in quietude, and for your chivalrous spirit on the sanguine field, when the heavens glared with fire, and the earth trembled ‘neath cannons’ roar. May it never rest in its scabbard ’till rebellion is crushed and traitorism is banished from the land, and peace spread her white wings from the St. John’s to the sunny banks of the Rio Grande. May it ever bespeak in the heart of him that wields it, bravery, loyalty, heroism, and philanthropy. That it may ever benefit you in the hour of peril, and that you may undauntingly use it as opportunity is afforded, is the very ardent wish of your most obedient servants.'”
Captain Woodruff then responded to this touching tribute by presenting a surprisingly lengthy address to his men:
My companions in arms, your beautiful present is accepted with sincere satisfaction and heartfelt thanks. It affords the satisfaction that you still respect and have confidence in your commander, and he is thankful not only for the value of this noble gift, but for the rich token of your kind regard. And while I wear these arms and accoutrements, emblematical of my rank and office, may they never be worn unworthily, or the noble donors have cause to blush for the ungallant act of the wearer.
Two years have nearly elapsed since we have been associated as commander and commanded. Two years of privation and toil, yet your love for the cause and your ardor to serve your country has not abated.
When you entered upon this gigantic struggle, you were not prompted by large bribes or bounties, or intimidated by being forced in service by conscription. But inspired by a noble patriotism, you cheerfully volunteered for the longest period known to law.
Your conduct thus far has been in accordance with the honorable principles which caused you to volunteer. No discipline too strict, no privations too great, no toil too sore, but that your indomitable spirits have been able to accomplish, to undergo and overcome. And now allow me to say to you that I am proud of the noble men who compose this company; I am proud of your generous and gallant conduct; I am proud of your association; I am proud of the honor you have this day conferred upon your Captain.
In looking forward, I have no fears for you in the future, whatever you may be called on to do—in garrison—in the tented field, or on the sanguined plain, it will be bravely—it will be well done. Then until rebels and traitors shall become extinct, or have grounded their arms, and acknowledged the supremacy of the government and the law, let this our motto be: Give us death or give us liberty.
In his own account of that event, Sergeant Alan Wilson noted that Captain Woodruff’s speech was received with three cheers by the men of D Company and a reception at which they ate and drank heartily in his honor.
Two days later, on Sunday, July 18, two privates from Company B—Charles Knauss and Allen Newhard—missed the regiment’s regularly scheduled inspection at Fort Taylor. Absent from morning through evening, they returned to their quarters. In response to their unexcused absence, their superior officers confined them to the guard house for three days and fined them each five dollars.
On July 22, Captain Henry S. Harte conducted a formal inspection of his F Company soldiers, who were dressed in full uniform and carrying their rifles for the event. That same day, B Company Private William Geist was reported as being drunk in his company’s barracks. Citing previous episodes of drunkenness, he was ordered by his superior officers “to stand upon the head of a barrel in front of the guard quarters for six successive days from 7 to 10 AM, and be confined in the guard house in the interval,” according to Schmidt.
In a letter penned around this same time, I Company Private Alfred Pretz wrote:
The weather is pleasant here, nothing short of it. Here we are set down on a small key in the ocean with the cooling sea breezes continually blowing over us so that, although the rays of the sun parch the ground and wither the herbage, the air in the shade is temperate. From 10 to 3 we keep in doors, the early mornings are fine, the evenings are cool. We have the moonlight at night now too which makes it delightful. I have just returned from Fort Taylor. Col. Good was here with his carriage at 12 and asked me whether I would ride back to the fort with him. Of course, I went transacted a little business for headquarters down there and walked back, over a mile. It would be impossible, I believe, to walk so far at this time of day if the breeze were not so strong and cooling. Tomorrow evening the Colonel is to be presented with a magnificent sword by the citizens of Key West ‘as a token of [their] appreciation of his merits as a gentlemen and soldier,’ so the Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements said at their meeting the other evening. The sword was made to order in New York and cost $750. I have not seen it. I will describe it to you as soon as I have seen it. The Yellow Fever season commences about the 1st of August. I don’t think we will have any of it this year, as there are none of the usual signs. We haven’t had a death in the regiment in the last month. There are few sick.
Colonel Tilghman H. Good, commanding officer, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers (public domain image, circa 1863).
Colonel Good received that sword from the citizens of Key West during a festive event on Saturday, July 25, according to Schmidt.
At 4 PM, Companies C and D which were stationed at the barracks, were marched to Fort Taylor where Companies A, B, and I were stationed. The companies were formed in a line under command of Col. Good and marched through several street to the front of the Custom House, where they formed in a square column at 5 PM, with the Colonel on his horse ‘in his regular position’ in front of the troops. ‘A fine stand had been erected on the piazza of the building, seats were placed for the ladies, flags were stretched across the streets, and everything so arranged as to give it the appearance of a holiday. On the stand were Rear Admiral Bailey, Capt. Templeton of the Navy, Gen. Woodbury and staff, Captains Hook and McFarland of the Army; besides Thomas J. Boynton, U.S. District Attorney, for the Southern District of Florida.’
Two citizens came down from the platform and Col. Good dismounted from his horse and took his cap in his hand, stepped between the two men and was escorted to the platform at the cheers of his men. He was presented with the sword, sash, and belt by Mr. Maloney, a Key West lawyer.
Maloney then delivered the following address:
The people of Key West have called upon me to represent them today, and in their name and on their behalf to present you with a sword as a token of their regard, and in appreciation of your merits as a gentleman and soldier. And permit me to say, sir, that heretofore in instances almost without number have I been called upon to serve this people, during a residence of 28 years among them. And that many of those calls have been attended with positions of honor, trust, and emolument; but upon no occasion have I felt the honor more great, or my sympathies more in accord with the good people of this island, than upon the present occasion.
You first came to our island, sir, nearly two years ago. You came then as a subordinate, but at the head of a regiment, which had met the armed enemies of the government of the United States on the fields of Virginia, and had shown its discipline and bravery in battle, which attracted the favorable attention of the General soon after appointed to the command of this island; and which caused your regiment to be selected by him to serve under his command at this point.
Transferred from Virginia to Key West. From scenes of carnage to the peaceful abode of an unarmed and loyal people, you met the inhabitants of this island, as they deserved to be met and as they met you, and all who came before you bearing the flag of the Union and the command at this post.
After a very short sojourn on the island, but not before you had succeeded in making a favorable impression on the inhabitants, the government found it necessary to transfer your regiment to South Carolina where it was expected fighting was to be done. And it was with pride and pleasure that your friends here learned that you met the enemy at Pocotaligo and Jacksonville and demonstrated that the most modest could be the most brave.
Unfortunately for us, sir, the transfer operated to bring into chief command on this island, one who had yet to learn to meet an armed foe. And I refrain from speaking of the administration, or more correctly speaking, the maladministration of that officer only because he is absent.
Wiser councils, and a good providence returned you to us, as chief in command, at a moment of great peril to a large number of our inhabitants, and you signalized your assumption of command by inaugurating renewed confidence in the good faith of the government of the United States. By discountenancing a vile system of clandestine attacks upon the reputation of quiet law abiding citizens. And by bringing order out of general confusion.
Your administration of affairs as chief of command was short, but such as to attract the respect sand esteem of the greater portion of the people of this island; and without disparagement to others, I can confidently say that no military officer of the United States more wisely and prudently governed on this island than yourself.
The citizens of Key West, in appreciation of your merits as a gentleman and a soldier, through me, now present this sword, asking your acceptance of the same, confident that they confide it to the hands of an officer who knows both how and when to use it.
In response, Colonel Good said:
Gentlemen, I accept at your hands this magnificent gift, and beg of you to accept in return my most heartfelt thanks. Duly sensible that no acts of mine as an individual have merited it, I shall regard the presentation of this testimonial as evidence of your attachment to the cause I have the honor to represent, and of your devotion to our common country. It shall ever serve as an additional memento, if one were needed, to remind me of the pleasant days passed among you, and of the loyalty of your citizens, to whom I am already greatly indebted for many kindnesses. It shall be sacredly preserved and I hope no act of mine will ever disgrace it or cause you to regret of your generosity. I am a man of action, gentlemen, and I know you will in these times, particularly, excuse a lengthy speech from me, it not being a soldier’s vocation. Imagine all a grateful heart could prompt the most eloquent to utter, and you will have the correct idea of my feelings.
A reception then followed, during which the 47th Pennsylvania’s Regimental Band performed Bully for You and other numbers and the assembled crowd of Key West residents and men from the 47th Pennsylvania gave rousing cheers for Colonel Good, the Army and Navy of the United States and its senior military officers, President Abraham Lincoln, and America’s Union. As the event wound down, the regiment’s various companies marched back to their respective quarters.
August 1863
Officers’ quarters and parade grounds, interior of Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, Florida, 1898 (U.S. National Park Service and National Archives and Records Administration, public domain).
During the month of August, forty-nine of the inhabitants of Fort Jefferson were admitted to the fort’s post hospital, twenty-nine of whom were members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Among those admitted from the regiment were twenty-five soldiers who had contracted infectious or inflammatory diseases or developed other types of infections. Conditions identified during this period included: anthrax/fungus infections (two cases), bilious remittent or intermittent fevers (nine cases); conjunctivitis; constipation, dysentery/diarrhea, enuresis/bed wetting or other intestinal complaints (eleven cases); funiculitis and orchitis, as well as cases of cramp, debilitas, hemorrhage, and rheumatism.
That same month, the men stationed at Fort Jefferson continued their routine of morning infantry drills, followed by artillery practice in the afternoon, with Second Lieutenant Christian K. Breneman appointed as the fort’s post adjutant, Company K’s First Lieutenant David Fetherolf appointed as “A.A.G.M. & A.A.C.S. of Post in accordance with Spec. Order #98 HQ Fort Jefferson,” and Privates Alexander Blumer (Company B), Charles Detweiler (Company A), John Schweitzer (Company A), Charles Shaffer (Company E), and John Weiss (Company F) assigned to responsibilities, respectively, as a company clerk, nurse, baker, quartermaster department member, and ordnance department member. In addition, other members of the regiment were assigned to guard duty.
Lighthouse, Key West, Florida, early to mid-1800s (Florida for Tourists, Invalids, and Settlers, George M. Barbour, 1881, public domain).
Their routine changed dramatically for one day, however; on Thursday, August 6, 1863—the date President Abraham Lincoln had proclaimed as a nationwide day of Thanksgiving and reflection—and a date on which 47th Pennsylvanians at both of garrison sites most certainly took time to reflect on all that they had endured since enlisting.
While the majority of enlisted men and lower ranking officers stationed in the Dry Tortugas observed the national holiday there at Fort Jefferson, many of their superior officers headed to Fort Taylor, where every store in town was closed to ensure wider participation in the commemorative events that had been scheduled there, which C Company’s Henry Wharton described in his August 23, 1863 letter to the Sunbury American:
Thanksgiving, or the day set apart by the President for prayer and to return thanks to Him who has the control of battles, was properly observed by the Army and Navy at this place. The proclamation of the President was read from the pulpits of the different churches on the Sunday evening previous, and invitation extended to all who wished to participate in the services on that occasion. General Woodbury issued a circular requesting all of his command to observe the day in a becoming manner and to attend Divine service at their usual places of worship.– He ordered that all drills and policeing [sic] should be dispensed with, so that the men were at liberty to spend the day as their feelings best dictated. The invitation of the Clergy was accepted, and the Military, by companies attended church. Company C, headed by Captain Gobin and Lieutenant Oyster, marched to the Episcopal church, where an eloquent discourse was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Herrick, but owing to the great crowd many were compelled to retire, thus losing an intellectual treat that would have benefitted them more than the mere listening to a common sermon. The Reverend gentleman of this church has been very kind to our regiment in reserving seats for their accommodation. One act of his speaks for itself, viz: on our arrival here he addressed a note to the Colonel of the 47th, inviting the officers and men to attend the services at St. Marks church, and mentioned particularly that the seats were free.
On the Saturday following Thanksgiving a Yacht race came off on the waters between Sand Key Light House and Key West.– Some thirty boats were entered. Boats of all kinds, from a Captains gig to a thirty or forty ton schooner. The wind was fine and a splendid day they had for the purpose.– Each boat had a flag that it might be known, and as they moved off, the fleet made a grand display. From the ramparts of Fort Taylor the sight was magnificent, for from that point one had a full view, and an opportunity afforded of following the different parties, with the eye, until they gained the turning point and their return to the starting ground. A steam tug followed the party, having on board ladies, the committee and guests, who had a jolly time of it, and an opportunity of tripping the ‘light, fantastic toe,’ to the fine music of the 47th Band, lead by that excellent musician, Prof. Bush. Quartermaster Lock’s schooner ‘Nonpareil’ won the race, out distancing all of its competitors. Of that fact I was certain, for how else could it be, when its name belongs to the ‘art, preservative of all arts’ – printing.
Last Wednesday brought two-thirds of the ‘three years’ of the ‘Sunbury Guards’ to a close, when Lieut. Reese surprised the boys, agreeably, by giving them an entertainment. In this the Lieut., took the start of the other officers of the company, but as all joined in devouring the good things furnished, every one was in a good humor and satisfied, no matter who was the caterer for the occasion. Company C is blessed with good officers – men who do, as they wish to be done by. This little celebration had a good effect, for if there was any misunderstanding, previously, it is now settled, and no better conducted or well regulated family, where good feeling are exhibited, can be found among the soldiers of Uncle Sam. Our company is slightly envied on account of their good grub, but for this the boys should not be blamed for Gobin, who has charge of the company savings, is continually hunting the market for the best it affords, and Sergeant Piers and Johnny Voonsch serve it up in their best style, proving to others that soldiers can, if they good [sic] cooks, live a well as any ‘other man.’
The nomination of Governor Curtin for re-election was well received, and if they had the right to vote there would be no fear of the next Chief Magistrate of Pennsylvania being a copperhead. The decision of Judge Woodward, depriving the soldier of a vote, is looked upon as a bribe for not re-enlisting; and indeed it is, for does it not give the bounty of the right of suffrage to every elector who stays at home? The voting men of the 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, are as a unit for the re-election of Andrew G. Curtin.
Blockade running is nearly played out, and is confined to Mobile and Wilmington, N.C. Very few vessels of this sort are brought into this port at present, owing to the strict watch that is kept on the above named places; however, a day or two ago, the U.S. Steamer De Soto brought in two very large river steamers laden with cotton. The cotton is being transferred to other vessels and will soon be sent North, where it will be put in market for sale.
One of the houses belonging to the Engineer Department was entirely destroyed by fire on last Thursday. It was occupied by the laborers as a sleeping apartment. How the fire originated is unknown, but it is supposed to have caught from a tobacco pipe of one of the men, or from a spark of the locomotive that is used in hauling material for the outside works at Fort Taylor. The boys are all very well and in fine spirits, only a little more active life, and occasional brush with the enemy, they think, would give them a better appetite and enable them to enjoy the rations fournished [sic] by Government….
Fort Jefferson and its wharf (Harper’s Weekly, August 26, 1865, public domain; click to enlarge).
As the month of August wore on, one of the 47th Pennsylvanians assigned to guard duty at Fort Jefferson was H Company’s Corporal George W. Albert, who was stationed at the wharf in the Dry Tortugas on August 24. Standing guard at the regimental post designated as No. 6, he was assigned to night duty, and was relieved the next morning at 8 a.m.
That same day, General Woodbury arrived at the Tortugas for an inspection. He was impressed by the regiment’s level of discipline according to H Company Captain James Kacy, who later wrote: “Men were fully armed and ready for march, splendid appearance…. Gen. Woodbury would not part with the 47th if he does not have to, and all the people at Key West and the Tortugas are pleased with the 47th more than any other regiment.”
With respect to the civilian population at Fort Jefferson and across Florida’s Dry Tortugas, life was also often surprisingly busy. According to Emily Holder, who was making a life with her physician-husband at a house on the fort’s grounds during this time:
The latter part of August 1863, Mr. Hall, who with his wife, had been long with us, was ordered away. He was a very efficient officer and we heard long afterwards that his bravery under fire was remarkable. Their departure was most tantalizing to them and to us somewhat amusing. It showed more clearly than anything else would our isolated condition, for our only legitimate means of getting away was by sail; whenever we had steam conveyance it was by special favor.
We had given some farewell entertainments to Mr. And Mrs. Hall, and Saturday afternoon saw them on board the boat that was to carry them directly to Pensacola. When ready to sail the wind suddenly failed, and the vessel could not get away from the wharf.
The doctor went down and brought them back with him to tea after which they returned to the boat, hoping that during the night a breeze would spring up, but in the morning there the boat lay, and they breakfasted with the colonel. Later all went down again to see them off, as a breeze gently flapped the flag, but it was dead ahead, making it impossible to get out of the narrow channel, which in some places was not wide enough for two vessels to pass each other, and beating out was impossible, so they came up to tea again and spent the evening.
The next morning the doctor looked out of the window and exclaimed: “There they go!” when suddenly as we were watching, the masts became perfectly motionless. We knew only too well what that meant. They had run on to the edge of the reef, within hailing distance of the Fort, and the doctor with others, went out and spent the morning with them, as they refused to come on shore again. Mr. Hall said he was going to “stand by the ship.”
In the course of the day, by kedging as the sailors call it, putting out the anchor and pulling the boat up to it, then throwing it out again further on, they managed to crawl to the first buoy, and there lay in the broiling sun….
Someone replied that it was fortunate that the Wishawken had captured the Atlanta and that the Florida after running the blockade from Mobile under the British colors, rarely came near our coast, for they certainly would have been captured had there been a privateer in those waters.
The next morning when we went on top of the Fort, the sails of the schooner were just a white speck on the northern horizon, and we could hear music from the steamer, which was bringing Colonel Goode [sic] for his monthly inspection of the troops.
Our rains continued occasionally later than usual, one in the middle of September almost ending in a hurricane; so rough was it that the Clyde, a long, graceful, English-built steamer, that came in for coal with the Sunflower, had to remain several days. The Clyde had quite a serious time in reaching the harbor. We watched it through a porthole with great anxiety. It was too strong a wind for us to venture on the ramparts, but we could walk all about inside seeing everything that came in from our safe lookout.
Colonel Goode [sic] on his last trip had left the regiment band for us awhile, so that guard mount and dress parade were important features, while the naval officers went about visiting the various houses, keeping us bright and gay while they were weather bound.
The high winds ended in a severe norther—an almost unheard of thing so early in the season. Later we saw by a paper that they had snow in New York the latter part of August; it might have been the same cold wave that swept down over the Gulf, for it housed us shivering.
While the band was with us the ramparts were the favorite places for viewing dress parade, and the colonel gave the ladies all the pleasure he could, having the band play on parade during the evening.
A remittent fever broke out and we were ill for three weeks. It was very much like the break-bone fever; extreme suffering in the limbs and back seemed to be the prevailing feature of the attacks. At the same time they were digging a ditch around close to the wall of the Fort, which made it pass between the house and kitchen as the latter was in the casemates.
The rains, of course, swelled the size of the brook so that the bridge over it, when the wind blew, as it seemed to most of the time, was rather an insecure passage, as it was five feet wide and from three to four deep, and to cross that every time one went into the kitchen was no small annoyance, and the contrivances to get the meals into the dining-room got required no little ingenuity.
Meanwhile, as summer progressed, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers continued to weaken Florida’s abilities to supply and transport food and troops throughout the area held by the Confederate States of America by capturing livestock and farm produce, as well as disrupting the manufacture of salt.
They also continued to train, keeping their battle skills sharp in readiness for the moment they would be ordered back into the fray in order to finally extinguish the faction of “fire-eaters” bent on dissolving the United States and all that the nation had stood for since its founding.
Sources:
- Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
- “Florida’s Role in the Civil War: ‘Supplier of the Confederacy.’” Tampa, Florida: Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida, retrieved online January 15, 2020.
- Holder, Emily. “At the Dry Tortugas During the War.” San Francisco, California: Californian Illustrated Magazine, 1892 (part four, retrieved online, March 28, 2024, courtesy of Lit2Go, the website of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse at the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida).
- “History: Crops (Historic Florida Barge Canal Trail).” Historical Marker Database, retrieved online December 30, 2023.
- Owsley, Frank Lawrence, and Harriet Fason Chappell. King Cotton Diplomacy: Foreign Relations of the Confederate States of America. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1959.
- “Preventing Diplomatic Recognition of the Confederacy, 1861–1865,” and “The Alabama Claims, 1862–1872,” in “Milestones: 1861–1865.” Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State, retrieved online December 30, 2023.
- Schmidt, Lewis G. A Civil War History of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1986.
- Wharton, Henry. Letters from the Sunbury Guards. Sunbury, Pennsylvania: Sunbury American, 1861-1868.
#003366 #47thPennsylvania #47thPennsylvaniaInfantry #47thPennsylvaniaRegiment #47thPennsylvaniaVolunteers #47thRegimentPennsylvania #98 #America #AmericanCivilWar #AmericanHistory #Army #CivilWar #DryTortugas #FloridaAndSouthCarolina #FortJefferson #FortTaylor #History #Infantry #KeyWest #PennsylvaniaHistory #PennsylvaniaInTheCivilWar #TheUnionArmy #Tortugas #USMilitaryAndTheUnionArmy
-
CW: NSFW Pool game
-
Die Textilbranche zeigt die Schädlichkeit
des #Kapitalismus deutlich: Die Konzentration des Kapitals hat nicht nur die die Laden-Vielfalt gekostet zugunsten eines Einheits-Marktes landauf landab. Ein harter #Preiskampf ist erkennbar, der zu immer größerem Preisdruck im Verkauf und bei Produktionskosten führt. Und damit zu #Ausbeutung von #ArbeiterInnen und niedrigen #Umweltstandards, mehr #THG ...
Statt #Werthaltigkeit #ReUse immer mehr #BilligMode #WegwerfKlamotten 😔
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wirtschaft/guenstige-textilien-beliebt-bei-kunden-und-bei-investoren,V5ATpep -
Hatsune Miku / Billiemi02 / September 27, 2025
#AIgenerated #初音ミク #HatsuneMiku #Miku #ボーカロイド #VOCALOID #UTAU #anime #animegirl
https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/135604909
Click link to see 8 additional images -
Hatsune Miku / Billiemi02 / September 27, 2025
#AIgenerated #初音ミク #HatsuneMiku #Miku #ボーカロイド #VOCALOID #UTAU #anime #animegirl
https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/135604909
Click link to see 8 additional images -
Lord Billiam of Idol with his signature song, "Rebel yell". Video.
Jennifer Rush does "The power of love".
Always room in the charts for a good power ballad, this one's not too far from Foreigner earlier in the year.
Mostly-black outfit, leather miniskirt, pink flashes on one shoulder and down the other arm, same shade of pink on her lipstick.
Jennifer knows where the camera is, and how to engage with it: a sideways glance, a long stare. This is a bit good.
-
#Billiman matriarch, niece remain strong in face of adverse health conditions caused by #RadiationExposure
By Donovan Quintero | Jan 9, 2025 |
WINDOW ROCK – "Since September, when she traveled to Washington, D.C., to tell House Speaker Mike Johnson to renew the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (#RECA), Maggie Billiman has had her gallbladder removed.
"Now she is awaiting more possibly devastating news about her liver. And if that wasn’t enough bad news, she said she was also told she has three cysts on her pancreas.
"'I just had surgery and I’m still in a lot of pain,' she said on Dec. 26, referring to her gallbladder removal surgery.
"A #downwinder victim, Billiman, and about 30 others from the #NavajoNation, #Laguna, and #AcomaPueblo tribes traveled to Washington, D.C., in September to advocate for the passage of Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s RECA legislation.
"For 17 years, from 1945 and 1962, the U.S. conducted nearly 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons development tests. Atmospheric nuclear tests are when nuclear bombs are exploded in the air, instead of underground or underwater.
"At the heart of the bombs involved #UraniumMining and [#UraniumProcessing], which was performed by tens of thousands of workers, like Maggie’s father.
"Maggie’s father, a member of the legendary Navajo Code Talkers Howard Billiman Sr., worked in the #UraniumMines.
"'My dad had died of stomach cancer, he was one of the #NavajoCodeTalkers, and he passed away,' she said.
"Her father worked at the #KennecottMine in Utah. He also worked at the #KingmanMine in Arizona in the 1950s through the 1960s, Maggie said.
"After the tests ended in 1962, many of the uranium miners and process workers initiated class action lawsuits claiming exposure to known radiation hazards."
Read more:
https://navajotimes.com/reznews/billiman-matriarch-niece-remain-strong-in-face-of-adverse-health-conditions-caused-by-radiation-exposure/
#NoNukes #NoWar #Downwinders #NukingTheNavajo #Dine #LagunaPueblo #Genocide #EnvironmentalRacism #NoUraniumMining #NoMiningWithoutConsent #HaulNo -
La calculatrice la plus geek que j'ai jamais vue ! 😎🎲💻
Et en plus, elle est utilisable mais ne compte pas les points ni ne propose un petit jeu billard.Etonnante, non ?
-
And how did we get to this point? Believe it or not, it started with coming up with a substitute for #ivory...
The plastic paradox: How plastics went from elephant saviors to #EcoVillains
Do the benefits of plastics outweigh the costs?by Ross Pomeroy
January 23, 2024"It was 1869, and something needed to be done.
"With the price of ivory skyrocketing, billiard ball manufacturers were scrambling for an alternative. The prized material derived from elephant tusks was being used to craft such things as knife handles, piano keys, dice, dominoes, chessmen, and yes, billiard balls. Now, with #elephants growing scarce from overhunting, the wonder material was becoming difficult to procure and unreasonably expensive. After all, one tusk would yield just four or five balls. Leading pool table manufacturer Phelan and Collender offered $10,000 ($225,000 today) to any inventor who could discover a replacement for ivory.
"Albany inventor John Wesley Hyatt answered the call, molding together camphor, nitrocellulose, and alcohol under extreme pressure. His concoction, called celluloid, was one of the first synthetic plastics. While Hyatt’s creation proved an unwieldy material for billiard balls — insufficiently durable and mildly explosive when struck — it inspired others to formulate something better. A few decades later, American chemist Leo Baekeland came up with the petroleum-derived Bakelite. It became the first commercially successful synthetic plastic, and very likely saved elephants from #extinction."
[The article goes on to mention how #plastics and #PFAS are interconnected...]
"According to the authors of the report, plastic additives may be the most pernicious. These substances augment plastics to make them more useful to consumers: stronger, more pliable, less #flammable, non-stick, etc. However, large observational studies and research in lab animals indicate they are harming human health.
"The substances could be increasing cancer rates, reducing birth weights, inhibiting antibody responses to vaccines, raising blood pressure, and contributing to infertility. These compounds include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (#PBDE), phthalates, bisphenol A (#BPA), and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (#PFAS).
"Philip J. Landrigan, a professor, pediatrician, and Director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College, is the lead author of the Minderoo-Monaco Commission report. He spoke with Big Think about the potential harms of plastic additives.
"Landrigan was a pediatrician during the 1970s, when lead in gasoline, paints, and toys was secretly poisoning children. He says chemicals leaching from plastics constitute a similar threat: As they’re not chemically bound to the plastic matrix, they can easily escape into the environment. #PBDEs, added as #FlameRetardants in furniture and other products, have been found in house dust and are neurotoxic, he says.
“The thousands of chemicals in plastics — #monomers, additives, processing agents, and non-intentionally added substances — include amongst their number known human #carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, #neurotoxicants, and persistent organic #pollutants,' Landrigan and his fellow authors wrote in the report.
"Given these negative effects, it may seem as if plastic is a fire-breathing dragon. While it began as an ally, it has now turned against us. If we don’t get the dragon back under control, it could spell our downfall.
"To respond to threats from plastics, the experts on the Minderoo-Monaco Commission called for a #GlobalPlasticsTreaty comparable to the Paris Climate Agreement to combat climate change. As part of the treaty, they insist that a 'cap on global plastic production with targets, timetables, and national contributions' is needed. Global plastic use is estimated to nearly triple by 2060."
Read more:
https://bigthink.com/the-present/plastics-costs-benefits-paradox/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us#Crapitalism #BanPlastics
#WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #PlasticRain -
I've reached Level 300 on 8 Ball Brawl mobile game.
#8ballbrawl #billiards #gaming #game #levelreached #tech #android #mobile #androidgaming #billiardsmobile #mobilegame #mobilegaming #8ballpool #poolgame -
Biljart en fietsen | Billiards and bicycles
https://blog.ernste.net/2026/04/30/biljart-en-fietsen-billiards-and-bicycles/
#albania #albanie #bicycle #fiets #foto #fotografie #photo #photography #tirana
-
Biljart en fietsen | Billiards and bicycles
https://friendica.world/display/84b6ef2b-7469-f2ec-01db-f05037964650
-
Thanks to Helen Ries & Siblings Canada, who had me on their webinar to talk about "Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me." We were joined by psychologist Yona Lunsky. It was a very unique interview, as each of us is a sister of a #sibling with a developmental #disability. (@TeresaHeartchild makes appearances in the interview in fun & surprising ways.)
Helen called #FreeingTeresa a “call to action” for all siblings
@billiamjames
#caregiving
#downsyndromehttps://learning.siblingscanada.ca/courses/webcast-freeing-teresa
-
Golden Leaves Festival - Tickets zu gewinnen. 30.-31.08.2025 Darmstadt - Steinbrücker Teich...
#Betterov #BillieMarten #Blond #BlushAlways #CarolineRose #DieNerven #Ennio #Erobique #MIA #Modular #PaulaCarolina #SonsOfTheEast #TaraNomeDoyle #TeamScheisse #TheNotwist#Gewinnspiel
https://www.musikblog.de/2025/08/golden-leaves-festival-tickets-zu-gewinnen/ -
Anche oggi abbiamo la descrizione di una #serata anche grazie a @BruttoCheffo che mi ha ricordato di parlarne.
Ieri sera sono uscito per una sorta di appuntamento con una ragazza. Più per rivederci che altro dato che le nostre strade si dividono e chissà quando ci si rivede.
Capita che era il compleanno di una sua amica ed io mi sono aggregato un po' così in giro per Trastevere. Tutti a casa abbastanza presto, credo verso l'una.
Ho fatto un salto da un amico che lavora a piazza Navona, lui ha staccato poco dopo e mi ha portato in un locale dove ha lavorato in passato.
I baristi amici suoi ci hanno offerto un po' da bere.
Il posto era molto pieno di gente, il che non mi è piaciuto molto ma ho cominciato a ballare per i cavoli miei.
Una ragazza si avvicina e balliamo un attimo assieme, poco dopo mi chiama un ragazzo e mi dice che è la sua tipa e di andarmene.
Questo fatto si ripete ed il ragazzo mi ha offerto da bere perché io non ballassi con la ragazza!
A chiusura del locale sono rimasto a chiacchierare con i baristi, tutte persone simpatiche.
Camminata di un'oretta per tornare a casa, ma Roma di notte/alba è veramente bella.
Arrivo a casa alle 6:30/7Spesa totale della serata: 5€
-
#Navajo #uranium miners, people #downwind of atom bomb tests demand justice as Congress lets aid program lapse
by Keetra Bippus / Cronkite News
July 5, 2024WASHINGTON – "A federal program to compensate people exposed to fallout from U.S. nuclear testing expired June 10.
"The #Radiation Exposure Compensation Act has paid out $2.6 billion to over 41,000 people since 1992. In March, the U.S. Justice Department projected that another 1,070 claims would be approved by the end of September.
“'Why do we have to beg to pass #RECA?' said #MaggieBilliman, whose father, a #NavajoCodeTalker during World War II, died of stomach cancer she attributes to exposure to #fallout that affected their hometown in #Arizona. 'You don’t put a price tag on human life.'
"Starting with the #ManhattanProject’s Trinity test on July 16, 1945, weeks before bombs destroyed #Hiroshima and #Nagasaki, the U.S. government conducted 94 tests that produced radioactive mushroom clouds in remote areas of the West. Most were over #Nevada. One was over #NewMexico.
"People #downwind – including many in #Arizona – were exposed to dangerous #fallout, typically without warning.
"The Billimans’ hometown, #SawmillArizona, on #NavajoLand, is part of the large affected area where Congress made residents eligible for compensation.
"#Radioactive particles fell throughout Arizona, according to research from Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security. The state’s population grew from about half a million just before World War II to over 1.3 million in the early 1960s.
"Congress adopted RECA in 1992 to address claims from downwinders and uranium miners.
"The program offers an apology, and lump sum compensation ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to those who developed certain illnesses linked with radiation exposure, and who either lived in the #FalloutZones or worked at #UraniumMines and #UraniumMills.
"The law came in response to lawsuits from uranium workers who accused the government of failing to warn them about radiation hazards.
From 1944 to 1986, nearly 30 million tons of uranium ore was extracted from Navajo lands. The Manhattan Project itself, led by physicist #RobertOppenheimer, was disbanded in 1947, two years after Japan surrendered to end World War II.
"An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 Navajo people worked in the mines. They and their families lived nearby.
“'The closer you live to mine waste, the higher your risk of chronic #metabolic disease,' said Chris Shuey, director of the Uranium Impact Assessment Program at the Southwest Research and Information Center, a nonprofit research and advocacy group. 'People who live in these communities next to these wastes, they’re exposed through all of the pathways: air, water, land.'
"Claims from Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and #Colorado account for $1.8 billion of the payouts under RECA.
"Most of the #NavajoNation was covered due to potential fallout. About one in seven approved claims – 5,480 through the end of 2023 – have come from #NativeAmericans, 86% of them Navajo, totalling $372.6 million.
"The Environmental Protection Agency counts 523 abandoned uranium mines on or near the Navajo reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, an area bigger than Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont combined.
"The Senate voted 69-31 in March to extend the RECA filing period for five more years, with 46 Democrats and 20 Republicans in favor, along with Sen. #KrystenSinema of Arizona and two other independents. Sen. #MarkKelly, D-Ariz., also supported the bill.
The bill has stalled in the House, with no explanation from Speaker Mike Johnson or Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both Republicans from Louisiana.
"Their aides did not respond to multiple requests for comment."
#Downwinders #NoNukes #NoWar #BanTheBomb #NoUraniumMining #NuclearWar #NuclearWeapons #ICANN #Oppenheimer #HaulNo #InformedConsent #EnvironmentalRacism #WaterIsLife
-
#FYI #ClimateChat #DanMiller #LeonSimons #BillDiamond #SETI #astrobiology #astrophysics
"About what the search for extraterrestrial intelligence tells us about human-caused climate change on our home planet."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw1UrBlIeFA
#climate #ClimateScience #climatechange #ClimateEmergency #ClimateCrisis #ClimateBreakdown #ClimateDisruption #globalWarming #globalHeating #ExtremeWeather
-
CW: nudity, erotic, nsfw, explicit
It's often difficult to play billiards with my wife. She distracts me, and I end up losing.
Your comments and responses are welcome, as well as direct messages.
#nsfw #nude #candaulism #porn #sex #photography #nackt #fotografie #pool #play #wife #mywife #nip #nudeinpublic #frau #pussy
-
Drive-Away Dolls: totally inappropriate https://oldaintdead.com/drive-away-dolls-totally-inappropriate/ #BeanieFeldstein, #BillCamp, #CJWilson, #ColmanDomingo, #DriveAwayDolls, #EthanCoen, #GeraldineViswanathan, #JoeySlotnick, #MargaretQualley, #MattDamon, #PedroPascal, #TriciaCooke
-
Film Review: THE MASTERMIND: Josh O'Connor Superbly Plays a Man Who Makes Poor Choices in Kelly Reichardt's Drama [NYFF 2025]
#AlanaHaim #AveryDeutsch #BillCamp #CarrieLazar #ColeDoman #EliGelb #FilmFestival #GabyHoffmann #HopeDavis #JasperThompson #JohnMagaro #JoshOConnor #JuanCarlosHernandez #KatieHubbard #KellyReichardt #Margot...
-
So from 12:30 pm to 9:30 pm, I’ve been #eating #drinking and playing #billiards - I think I need a bit of a lie down.
#dilettante #friday #professorlife -
INFO-TOOT 📢 Die für heute geplante Live-Sendung wird um einen Tag auf morgen verschoben.
MORGEN (Mittwoch) ab 18 Uhr im Livestream: @chrismarquardt und @nSonic sprechen über 🚀 anamorphische Objektive, das 1-Billiarden-FPS-Experiment, Drohnengefahren und die Suche nach dem perfekten Teleobjektiv. Seid dabei!
Gerne Boost 🚀
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW2N51b_Ng0
🔗 https://twitch.tv/chrismarquardthimself#hslive #fotografie #podcast #livestream #Objektive #Experiment #Telefotografie
